Hamadi Jebali has been rushed to hospital

Hamadi Jebali, editor of the weekly Al Fajr, on a hunger strike since 13 January, was rushed to Habib Bougafta hospital in Bizerte on 12 February. 'If the authorities continue to show their indifference to the legitimate claims of this journalist they will bear full responsibility for what could happen to him. We repeat our demand to president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali for the immediate and unconditional release of Hamadi Jebali', said Robert Ménard, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders. On 12 February Hamadi Jebali, one month into a hunger strike, was transferred from Nador prison to Habib Bougafta hospital in Bizerte (north of the country). A member of the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP) went to the hospital on 13 February but was unable to see the journalist. Hamadi Jebali's wife, who visits him each Saturday, told Reporters Without Borders she was very worried and didn't even know if she could see her husband on 15 February. 'Since he has been imprisoned, Hamadi has staged several hunger strikes, but it's the first time he's making one last so long', she added. Hamadi Jebali, editor of the weekly Al Fajr, the organ of the Islamic movement An Nahda, has been jailed since 1991 in an individual cell. A member of Reporters Without Borders who had asked to visit him at Nador prison met with a refusal on 6 February from the prisons general directorate. The journalist's barrister, Mohamed Nouri, was also turned down. Wahida Jebali told the organisation she hadn't been allowed to see her husband 'directly' (without wire netting between them) for the first time until 25 January 2003. Madame Jebali also explained that her husband had been subjected to pressure by members of the State Security police to stop his hunger strike. Following the constant presence of police in front of her house, Wahida Jebali was obliged to go and live with her youngest daughter at her sister-in-law's in Sousse. The journalist's wife and daughters have today been stripped of their passport. Hamadi Jebali has been on a hunger strike since 13 January to protest against his detention conditions and demand his release. In 1992, he had been sentenced by Tunis Military Court to sixteen years imprisonment for 'belonging to an illegal organisation'. He had just finished serving a one-year prison term for publishing an article criticising the country's military courts system.